PERCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT BILKENT UNIVERSITY FACULTY ACADEMIC ENGLISH PROGRAM
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
BY
PINAR ESMA ÖNKOL
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
FEBRUARY 2011
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Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences
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Prof. Dr. Meliha ALTUNIŞIK Director
I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
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Prof. Dr. Ali YILDIRIM Head of Department
This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
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Prof. Dr. Meral AKSU Supervisor
Examining Committee Members
Prof. Dr. Ali YILDIRIM (METU, EDS) ______
Prof. Dr. Meral AKSU (METU, EDS) ______
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet OK (METU, EDS) ______
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşegül DALOĞLU (METU, FLE) ______
Assist. Prof. Dr. Esed YAĞCI (HU, EDS) ______
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I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work.
Name, Last name: Pınar Esma ÖNKOL
Signature:
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ABSTRACT
PERCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT BILKENT UNIVERSITY FACULTY ACADEMIC ENGLISH PROGRAM
Önkol, Pınar Esma Ph.D., Department of Educational Sciences Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Meral Aksu February 2011, 264 pages
Considering the current demands of our global world, there is a need for educating students equipped with diverse and complex qualities. In order to educate well- equipped students and sustain quality education, teachers and teacher educators have to be keeping themselves up-to-date and develop themselves professionally. The primary aim of this study is to explore English instructors’ understanding of professional development through the use of phenomenological research methodology. The data sources were instructors and administrators working at Faculty Academic English Program at Bilkent University. The data collection method was semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The findings of the study indicated that participants see professional development as a means of individual development, as a means of institutional development and as a source of developing community and environment. The study also revealed that the instructors preferred informal modes of professional development activities to formal ones. Participants of the study overall reflected their agreement on the positive contribution of course design on their professional development, autonomy and self-growth.
Keywords: Professional Development, English Language Instructor, Phenomenological Research, English for Academic Purposes
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ÖZ
BİLKENT ÜNİVERSİTESİ FAKÜLTE AKADEMİK İNGİLİZCE PROGRAMINDAKİ PROFESYONEL GELİŞİM ALGILARININ İNCELENMESİ
Önkol, Pınar Esma Doktora, Eğitim Bilimleri Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Meral Aksu Şubat 2011, 264 sayfa
Globalleşen dünyamızın değişen değerleri düşünüldüğünde, günümüzün bireylerinden beklenenler daha kapsamlı ve farklı bir hal almıştır. Değişen dünya değerlerine ayak uydurabilmeleri için öğrencileri birçok konuda donanımlı, bilgili ve kaliteli bir biçimde yetiştirebilmek için eğitimcilere de çok iş düşmektedir. Eğitimcilerin hem yakın çevrelerindeki hem de dünyadaki değişiklikleri yakın takip etmeleri, hem kendi alanlarında hem de diğer alanlarda kendilerini sürekli olarak değiştirmeleri, yenilemeleri ve eğitmeleri gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı görüngüsel yaklaşımı (fenomenoloji) kullanarak İngilizce okutmanlarının profesyonel gelişimlerini nasıl algıladıklarını incelemektir. Çalışmanın örneklemini Bilkent Üniversitesi Fakülte Akademik İngilizce Programı’nda görev yapmakta olan İngilizce okutmanları ve yöneticileri oluşturmaktadır. Veri toplama yöntemi yüzyüze yapılan yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmelerden oluşmaktadır. Çalışmanın sonuçları göstermektedir ki, katılımcılar profesyonel gelişimi hem bireysel gelişimleri hem de çalışmakta oldukları eğitim kurumları ve içinde yaşadıkları toplumu geliştirmek için bir araç olarak gördüklerini ifade etmişlerdir. Çalışmanın sonuçları ayrıca göstermiştir ki, araştırmaya katılan İngilizce okutmanları informal profesyonel gelişim aktivitelerini formal olanlara tercih ettiklerini belirtmişlerdir. Ayrıca, katılımcıların çoğunluğu derslerinde
v kullandıkları okuma parçalarını kendilerinin seçmelerini ve sınıf içi materyalleri kendilerinin geliştirmeleri profesyonel gelişimleri ve özerklikleri açısından oldukça yararlı bulduklarını dile getirmişlerdir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Profesyonel Gelişim, İngilizce Okutmanı, Fenomenoloji (Görüngüsel Yaklaşım), Akademik İngilizce Öğretimi
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To my beloved parents Hasan and Nesrin Önkol
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude and sincere appreciation to my respected advisor Prof. Dr. Meral Aksu for her guidance, support and patience throughout the course of this study. Without her continuous encouragement and guidance, this thesis would never be complete.
I would also like to thank to the thesis examining committee members Prof. Dr. Ali Yıldırım, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ok, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Daloğlu and Assist. Prof. Dr. Esed Yağcı for their invaluable insights and recommendations during the process of this dissertation.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gary Grossman and his beloved wife Jeni Grossman (“Jeni anne”) who not only encouraged me throughout this long journey but also opened their home during my stay in Arizona State University (ASU) as a visiting scholar. Without Dr. Grossman’s encouragement and belief in me I would never be able to develop myself professionally and have the opportunity to teach at undergraduate and graduate courses at ASU.
While I was pursuing my studies, I had the opportunity to learn from the pioneers in the field such as Prof. Dr. Fersun Paykoç, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ok, Prof. Dr. Ali Yıldırım and Prof. Dr. Hasan Şimşek who not only shared their expertise but also become great role models to me.
I would also like to send my sincere thanks to my dear friend Ayşegül Mısırlı Özsoy who supported me at hard times and showed her true friendship when I needed it the most. I appreciate her time and energy that she stole from her son by offering help during the pilot and data analyses processes of this study. Without her help and support I would not be able to continue with my studies.
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I gratefully would like to thank my colleagues and administrators at Bilkent University who kindly agreed to take part in the study, and offered their invaluable time and insights. I would also like to thank Dr. Meltem Eney who encouraged me to carry out a research study in the FAE Program.
I gratefully dedicate this dissertation to my beloved parents Nesrin and Hasan Önkol who taught me that education is the only capital for a woman, and thank them for their encouragement and financial support from my kindergarden education throughout my graduate studies. I also appreciate the support provided by my brother Çağlar Önkol and my beloved grandparents Nermin and Süleyman Katırcı. Thank you for everything you have done for me so that I become a better person.
Finally, I would like to send my deepest appreciation to Kanat Yedier who offered his eternal love and support even at highly stressful times when my patience was wearing out. Without his support and encouragement I would never consider applying to METU research assistantship and began my doctoral studies. I would like to thank him for always believing in me and broadening my horizons in life with his never ending energy, joy and humor.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PLAGIARISM………………………………………………………………… iii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………… iv ÖZ……………………………………………………………………………… v DEDICATION………………………………………………………………… vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………….. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS.…..…………………………………………………. x LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………….. xiv LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………… xv
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………… 1 1.1. Background to the Study…………………………………………... 1 1.2. Purpose of the Study………………………………………………. 10 1.3. Significance of the Study………………………………………….. 13 1.4. Definition of Terms……………………………………………….. 14
2. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………… 17 2.1. Conceptual Framework of Teacher Professionalism……………… 17 2.1.1. Professionalism in the Teaching Profession………………... 17 2.1.2. Teaching and Other Professions……………………………. 18 2.1.3. Some Key Terms Used in Teacher Professional Development………………………………………………... 21 2.2. Professional Development Activities…………………………….. 26 2.3. Contribution of Professional Development on the Individual, Organization and Society…………………………………………. 30 2.3.1. Professional Development and Individual Development….. 30 2.3.2. Professional Development and Organizational Development……………………………………………….. 34 2.3.3. Professional Development and Student Achievement……... 37
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2.3.4. Professional Development and Development of Society….. 37 2.3.5. Professional Development and Policy and Change Efforts... 40 2.4. Organizational Factors Contributing to Teacher Professional Development……………………………………………………… 40 2.4.1. Contextual Factors…………………………………………. 40 2.4.2. Role of Leaders in Teacher Professional Development…… 43 2.4.3. Role of Professional Development Programs……………… 44 2.4.4. Collegial Relationships…………………………………….. 46 2.5. Teacher Values and Professional Development………………….. 48 2.5.1. Teacher Identity and Professional Development…………... 51 2.5.6. Reflection and Teacher Professional Development………... 52 2.6. Professional Development and Teaching in an International Context……………………………………………………………. 53 2.7. Challenges against Professional Development…………………… 56 2.8. Summary………………………………………………………….. 63
3. METHOD……………………………………………………………… 64 3.1. Overall Design of the Study………………………………………. 64 3.2. Context……………………………………………………………. 69 3.3. Researcher Role…………………………………………………… 71 3.4. Data Sources and Sampling for the Interviews……………………. 79 3.4.1. FAE Instructors……………………………………………... 79 3.4.2. FAE Administrators………………………………………… 80 3.4.3. Sampling Procedure………………………………………… 81 3.5. Data Collection Instrument for the Interviews……………………. 84 3.5.1. Development of the Interview Questions…………………... 84 3.5.2. Pilot Study for the Interview Questions…………………….. 87 3.6. Data Collection Procedures……………………………………….. 89 3.6.1. The Interview Process………………………………………. 90 3.7. Data Analysis Procedures…………………………………………. 92 3.7.1. Coding of the Data………………………………………….. 93
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3.8. Ethical Considerations and Trustworthiness……………………… 96 3.8.1. Anonymity and Confidentiality……………………………. 96 3.8.2. Strategies for Validating Findings…………………………. 97 3.9. Limitations of the Study…………………………………………... 100
4. RESULTS……………………………………………………………… 102 4.1. Perceptions of Instructors and Administrators on Being a Professional……………………………………………………...… 102 4.2. Professional Development Activities Carried out in the Program… 116 4.2.1. Perceptions of the Instructors on Professional Development Activities…………………………………………………… 116 4.2.2. Expectations of Administrators Regarding the Professional Development of Instructors in the Program……………….. 123 4.3. Contribution of the Organizational Factors to Professional Development………………………………………………………. 131 4.3.1. Areas that Need Improvement in the Program…………….. 148 4.4. Contribution of Course Design on Professional Development……. 152 4.4.1. Instructors’ Perceptions on Course Design…………………. 153 4.4.2. Administrators’ Expectations on Course Design…………… 164
5. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS…………………………….. 167 5.1. Conclusions on Being a Professional……………………………… 167 5.2. Conclusions on Professional Development Activities…………….. 170 5.3. Conclusions on the Contributions of Organizational Factors to Professional Development………………………………………… 173 5.4. Conclusions on Contribution of Course Design to Professional Development……………………………………………………… 175 5.5. Researcher’s Reflections on the Research Process as a Self-Development Activity………………………………………... 177 5.6. Implications for Practice………………………………………….. 178 5.7. Implications for Further Research………………………………… 180
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REFERENCES………………………………………………………………… 184
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………… 206 A. FAE Development Objectives………………………………………. 206 B. Faculty Academic English Program Statement of Purpose and Aims.. 212 C. Job Description of FAE Instructors………………………………….. 214 D. Job Description of the Unit Head of FAE Program…………………. 219 E. Interview Guide for Instructors……………………………………… 225 F. Interview Guide for Administrators………………………………….. 230 G. Details of Pilot Study on Interview Questions………………………. 234 H. Invitation E-mail Sent to the Participants of the Study……………… 238 I. Informed Consent…………………………………………………….. 239 J. Index for Coding……………………………………………………… 241
TURKISH SUMMARY………………………………………………………. 243 CURRICULUM VITAE………………………………………………………. 263
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Activities for Teacher Development Categorized by Richards and Farrell (2005, p. 4)……………………………….………………… 29 Table 2.2. Models and Techniques of Professional Development Summarized by Villegas-Reimers (2003, p. 70)………………………………… 29 Table 3.1. Participants of the Study…………………………………………... 83 Table 3.2. Characteristics of Experts Participated in the Coding Process……. 94 Table 4.1. Individual Professional Development Activities………………….. 116
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.2. Hofstede’s Cultural Onion Model ……………………………….. 50 Figure 3.2 Data Analysis Process……………………………………………... 96
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of four sections, which mainly aim to provide the background to the research, to explain the purpose of the study, to list the research questions, to explain the significance of the research problem, to emphasize the scope and limitations of the study, and to provide the definition of terms.
1.1. Background to the Study
Training of teachers and various issues regarding teachers’ continuous professional development has been an issue of debate in both our country and in foreign countries for a long time. Especially in the last decade, professional development has attracted more and more attention in different sectors of professional life. Together with the rapid changes in the world and demands for high standards and quality, teachers now have to update and improve their skills through professional development “as never before” (Craft, 2000, p. 6). In this respect, the changes and developments in different fields such as technology, economy, and science have also affected the educational field and created the need for a change in the teacher training systems (Aksu, 2005). This is mainly because of the fact that the current demands of our global world are highly diverse. In this respect, there is a need for educating students equipped with diverse and complex qualities. Similarly, in order to educate such individuals, teachers and teacher educators need to be equipped with the necessary qualities and skills (Ibid.). More importantly, as the current research suggests professional development of teachers is necessary to realize rising expectations of students in today’s society (Darling-Hammond, 2005).
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In addition, a growing body of literature suggests that the classroom teacher can have a significant impact on student learning and achievement, and professional development may make an important difference in the qualifications and capacities that teachers bring to their work (Darling- Hammond, 2000). It is believed that the more teachers learn about the higher achievers their students will become (Fullan, 1995; Gallego, Hollingsworth & Whiteneck, 2001). For this reason, experts working in the field of educational improvement most of the time focus on teacher professional development to cope with the problems faced (Ancess, 2001; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2001; Fullan, 1991; Fullan, 1995). More importantly, as McLaughlin and Talbert state “teachers’ responses to today’s students and notions of good teaching practices are heavily mediated by the character of the professional communities they work” (2003) which highlights the role of working environment in teacher professional development. Finally, teachers also need to become “adaptive experts” who are prepared for effective lifelong learning that allows them continuously to add to their knowledge and skills (Bransford & Darling- Hammond, 2005, p. 3). Similarly, at the higher education level the importance of autonomy and collective work highly correlates to teacher professional learning, which results not only in student achievement but also the success and development of the educational institution. On the other hand, together with the status of Turkey as a prospective member of the European Union, it is important that the professionals in the educational field comply with standards and qualities of the requirements, policies and goals of the European Union regarding educational issues. For example, recently the European Union Commission has agreed to pursue the goal of making education and training systems in Europe a worldwide quality reference by the year 2010 and they adopted the following benchmarks in the following areas to be accomplished by the end of this decade:
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Focus on reform and investment on the key areas - mobilize the necessary resources effectively - make the profession of teacher and teacher trainer more attractive, Make lifelong learning a concrete reality Establish a Europe of Education and Training - the need for a European qualifications network, - increase mobility, - consolidate the European dimension of education (EUC, 2004).
Considering the above goals, it can inferred that as a candidate country and a nation in the global education arena, the Turkish educational system has to prioritize the professional development and learning and focus on how to promote lifelong learning and create opportunities especially for teachers to keep themselves up-to-date regarding their professional knowledge and expertise through different measures such as mobility or organizational learning.
Not only the aspirations of becoming an EU member, but also the recent trends and reforms in education highlights the crucial role of professional development. In the latest definitions of professionalism, for example, lifelong learning and continuous development of teachers are seen as essential skills for teachers to be equipped with in order to educate the learners in line with the changing demands of the contemporary world. In addition, together with the desire to become a full member state in the European Union and to comply with the rules and regulations of the EU, it is essential to explore to what extent the stakeholders in an educational organization, namely teachers, teacher educators, and administrators see themselves as competent to comply with these skills and qualities in the teaching profession and more research is needed to explore how they reflect on their professional development.
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In this respect, it is essential to carry out extensive and in-depth studies in different levels of education regarding professional development and continuous learning to further improve the educational system in Turkey. If the higher educational institutions are considered as bodies which are highly important in educating individuals for not only their future professional careers but also train them with the necessary global skills required from individuals in the 21st century, then there is a need to further explore the professional development of instructors at the university level to gain insights for future planning and curriculum decision making processes.
However, recent studies reflect that the professional development of teachers is still an area that needs further research and exploration. In the developed countries like the U.S., reform movements have focused on the need to improve the quality of the educational system in the last 50 years (Futrell, 2008). The debates regarding how the educational systems can be improved and transformed so that they can cater for the changing needs of the stakeholders in the educational system resulted in publication of reports and studies such as “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform” (1983) or “National Educational Goals” (1989). More importantly, such studies and debates reflect that “the key to America’s future health and well-being is education” (Futrell, 2008, p. 535), and it is advised that “in order for America to be able to grow and thrive in today’s global society, it must rethink the way it educates and prepares its citizens – from pre-kindergarten through graduate school and beyond” (Futrell, 2008, p. 535). This view reflects how important it is to consider education as the key factor in the development of a country. Furthermore, Futrell (2008) advocates that “from an economic standpoint, Americans today are competing for jobs with people from around the world and, therefore, in order to be successful, require an education that will better prepare them for a complex, more culturally-diverse environment” (p. 535). Finally, with the “increased mobility of knowledge and capital” America has to keep its knowledge capital “on its own soil” (p. 535).
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In order to cope with the this problem, Futrell (2008) argues that teachers in the U.S. must be prepared for such challenges by committing themselves to the education of diverse needs of their students, by providing a deeper understanding of the subject matter, and by designing a curriculum that accompanies with the needs of the students and in line with the national standards. However, the question of whether the U.S. is able to achieve such a goal is still questionable (Darling-Hammond, 2005).
When it comes to the Turkish context, the problem is quite similar to what is portrayed in the U.S. example. Even if there have been attempts to reform the educational system in different levels, such as the reform efforts in primary school curriculum by the Ministry of National Education or the reforms implemented by the Higher Educational Council to improve Faculties of Education, there is still the need to continuously work on the problem of teacher related issues such as making teaching profession more attractive for the younger generation, keeping teachers stay in the teaching profession, and provide opportunities for teachers’ continuous professional development (Akyüz, 2005). These are especially crucial when it is considered that there is a positive relationship between teachers’ professional learning and self-growth with students’ academic performance.
Having emphasized the need to ensure continuous development of teachers at all levels, namely from primary education through higher education, one needs to also consider the role of professional development on the development of community. As stated earlier, research studies carried out on the contributions of teachers’ professional development to the school reflects that there are positive contributions. In other words, teacher professional development boosts student learning, and ongoing growth for educators. In other words, either formal or informal, professional development of teachers leads to peer learning (Roby, 2009). More importantly, reaching one’s potential reflects that
5 educator's ability to enhance both the school and the school district (Roby, 2008).
Sergiovanni (1999) notes that commitment of a teacher is positively related with student achievement. Barth (1990) agrees with Sergiovanni by noting that "When the need and purpose is in the school, when the conditions are right, adults and students alike learn, and each energize and contribute to the learning of each other". He also emphasizes that when teachers stop growing, so do the students, and the others in the school environment. In this respect, professional contribution of educators to the school and its community cannot be ignored.
One of the key ways to adapt the teacher training systems to the changes in the world in general is to create professional learning communities to change the school cultures. Moreover, the teacher education curriculum should help teachers learn how to work on the improvement of practice as members of such collaborative communities (Bransford & Darling-Hammond, 2005, p. 5). In this respect, a central part of being a professional teacher requires commitment to help all students succeed, and to reach to other professionals and share their knowledge and skills so that they can “follow through with their commitment rather than simply to try and fail” (Bransford & Darling-Hammond, 2005, p. 6).
Different than other fields of teaching, according to Richards and Farrell (2005) “the field of language teaching is subject to rapid changes … as a result, teachers need regular opportunities to update their professional knowledge and skills, that is, their opportunities for professional development” (p. vii). However, in today’s educational systems teachers are not seen as bodies that need to be changed so as to improve the education in general, but they are seen as agents of change and active participants in the decision making processes. In this respect, professional development of teachers is a significant area of research that has received a major attention in the past few years.
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Considering the key points in literature on professional development, and the need for further research on the problem to increase the body of literature in the field, it should be noted that at any level, both the policy makers and the educators should prepare themselves to find different opportunities for self- growth and professional learning. In this respect, higher educational institutions educating prospective professionals like Bilkent University need to provide different opportunities for their personnel, namely the educators to develop themselves further in their field of expertise. As the research suggests, this is crucial to sustain better student achievement and learning as well as contribute to the higher educational organization and their community.
In a competitive educational environment, Bilkent University has the reputation of being the first foundation university in Turkey and with its resources and research opportunities, according to the World University Rankings by Times Higher Education released in 2010, Bilkent is ranked among the top 200 universities in the world. Despite this reputation, some areas of concern still remains in some programs in the university. Considering the fact that it is an English medium university and the field of English language teaching is suspect to rapid changes, the professional development of English instructors is crucial and requires further attention. Within this perspective, the main reason for selecting this context is that from its foundation years, the mission of Bilkent University has been to provide quality education for its students and provide opportunities for its faculty members to develop themselves both in terms of their teaching practices and the research studies carried out at the university. However, even if professional development of faculty members are highly emphasized in the website of the university as well as the university booklet, in the Faculty Academic English Program (FAEP) the need for a professional development model still remains.
As an English medium university, Bilkent provides its students with advanced level of English language. In this respect, the importance given to the English
7 language instructors and to their continuous professional development is noteworthy. With more than 350 English language instructors, Bilkent School of Language offers both general English courses in Preparatory program and freshman English courses in Faculty Academic English program. Faculty Academic English Program (FAE) is regarded as a highly prestigious program at the university, mainly due to the fact that various freshman English courses are provided by the faculty members in the FAE program to all departments and faculties at the university.
FAE program at Bilkent University works under the supervision of Bilkent University School of English Language (BUSEL). FAE provides English courses to students in their faculties and schools. The courses offered by the FAE units range from content-based academic skills courses in the freshman year to graduate writing courses for MA and PhD students. In providing academic skills support to a wide range of students in diverse faculties, instructors in the FAE program work cooperatively to design meaningful courses which emphasize high standards of academic writing achievement through challenging materials, active classroom learning, individual tutorial support and extensive feedback on student products. In addition, in order to meet the needs of specific departments, instructors often work with faculty staff at different Faculties in the university.
The current organization of the post-preparatory programs at Bilkent University, namely FAE Program, was established in January 2003 after teaming up and merging of the First Year English Program with post- preparatory programs in BUSEL. Currently, there are five FAE units, each of which embodies approximately 15 instructors responsible to a Head, and grouped according to the faculties or schools which they serve. According to the BUSEL FAE Policies and Procedures Handbook these units are as follows:
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1. Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science Unit (FAE-FE / FS): This unit is responsible for delivering English language courses to the departments of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Genetics and Physics. The unit offers freshman, junior and senior courses to students in these departments with particular emphasis on academic and technical writing. 2. Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences Unit (FAE – FEASS): This unit is responsible for delivering English language courses to the departments of Political Science and Public Administration, International Relations, Global International Affairs, Psychology and Economics. In addition, at present the unit also offers courses to the Faculty of Education. The unit offers freshman, sophomore and graduate courses to students in these departments. In particular, the unit has been instrumental in pioneering a paired second year course which works in conjunction with “Social and Political Philosophy I and II” in their faculty course. In this course, the students read original, canonical philosophy texts in their faculty course. The FAE course aims to further develop the students’ academic skills using the same philosophy texts. 3. Faculty of Humanities and Letters, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Unit, Education Faculty (FAE – FHL / FADA/EF): This unit is responsible for delivering English language courses to departments of English Language and Literature, American Culture and Literature, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Interior Architecture and Design, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, Communication and Design and the Faculty of Education. The unit offers freshman, sophomore and elective courses to students in these departments with particular emphasis on academic reading and writing, presentation skills and advanced grammar.
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4. Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Law Unit (FAE - FBA/FL): This unit is responsible for delivering English language courses to the departments of Management and Law. The unit offers freshman, sophomore, senior and graduate courses to students in these departments with particular emphasis, at the higher levels, on business communication skills and business language. FBA/FL also participates in the paired second year course “Introduction to Philosophy”. 5. Vocational Training Schools, Faculty of Music and Performing Arts (FAE– VTS/FMPA): This unit is responsible for delivering English language courses to the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, the School of Tourism and Hotel Management, and the Vocational Schools of Computer Technology, Office Management, and Tourism and Hotel Services. This unit offers freshman, junior and senior courses to students in these departments with particular emphasis on academic thinking, reading and writing, speaking skills and language accuracy.
1.2. Purpose of the Study
Carrying out research in the field of education requires a unique perspective than doing research in a different field. The uniqueness of this process comes mainly from the inanimate and intangible process of dealing with human beings and their learning organizations, which may involve asking questions to people, listening, observing and evaluating teaching methods. More importantly, as the educational research involves human beings, the process of carrying out research involves a different code of conduct, than in any other field, where ethical concerns should be at the forefront from the research design through the writing up and disseminations stages (Wellington, 2002, p. 3).
Even if some researchers emphasize the importance of developing theory in a field through carrying out scientific research, Bassey (2003) underlines the
10 importance of understanding phenomena with the help of research and defines the purpose of educational research as “Educational research is critical and systematic enquiry aimed at informing educational judgments and decisions in order to improve educational action” (p. 111). He adds that in educational research the focus should be both on “educational actions” or what happens in learning situations and more importantly on a “value orientation towards improvement of that action” (p. 111). He further emphasizes that during the process of research one asks questions and does observations bearing in mind the theoretical background to a problem, which in a broader sense lets the researcher get to know what is happening in the world. It is also interesting to note that in today’s research arena, studies “tend to be more qualitative or quantitative in nature”, and more importantly, they are “less quantitative versus qualitative” (Creswell, 2003, p. 4).
Within this perspective, when the problem investigated in this study is considered, namely the question of how instructors develop themselves professionally lends itself more to the qualitative research method as collecting data only through quantitative measures would not be enough to explore the insights and everyday experiences of the FAE instructors.
Considering the variety of courses offered by the units in the FAE program, it is noteworthy to emphasize that the FAE program has a crucial role in catering for the language needs of the departments and faculties within Bilkent University as well as aiming at preparing the students for their professional lives with a high level of competency in English. In this respect, considering the crucial role of FAE program across the different departments and faculties of the university, it is highly important to investigate the professionalism of English instructors and cater for their needs in the program so that not only the program but also the university benefits from this growth. On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, even if in BUSEL’s policies and FAE program’s handbook the professional role of the instructors are stated in detail, there
11 remains the need to develop a specific professional development model or constitute an institutional policy specifically addressing FAE instructors’ professional development. In this respect, before implementing such a policy or professional development framework, there appears to be a need to investigate the values and beliefs of English language instructors and their administrators regarding their professional development activities and the role of continuous professional development into their professional work life and their organization.
Within the light of these, the overall aim of this study is to provide a constructed reality of FAE instructors’ experiences that are “as informed and sophisticated as it can be at a particular point in time” (Guba and Lincoln, 1989 as cited in Koch, 2006, p. 100). While doing so, the researcher’s own insights and experiences are essential elements that can not be eliminated or bracketed, and the researcher participates in constructing meaning from the data. Considering these, this research aims to offer Heideggerian hermeneutical analysis of the lived experiences of FAE instructors. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to discover and describe the professional developmental practices of the English instructors in the FAE program at Bilkent University.
The following research questions will guide this research study in determining the values and beliefs of participants regarding their professional development:
1. How do the FAE instructors and their administrators describe a professional FAE instructor? 2. What are the professional development activities that FAE instructors carry out for their professional development? 3. What is the contribution of organizational factors to FAE instructors’ professional development according to FAE instructors and administrators?
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4. What is the contribution of course development (designing a course and planning assessment) to FAE instructors’ professional development according to FAE instructors and administrators?
1.3. Significance of the Study
The report titled “Transforming the Way Teachers are Taught,” which was published by The American Council on Education (ACE) in 1999, urged college and university presidents to prioritize their efforts to make major improvements in the quality of education given to teachers and school leaders. The report was also an attempt to criticize the American education system and concluded that in order to improve and increase the quality of education it is necessary that the efforts should begin with the teachers. Similarly, in the other countries, the 21st century is regarded as the age of reform in education by scholars (Darling-Hammond, 2005). In this respect, exploring the factors related with the improvement of the educational systems and the role of different factors and stakeholders in these efforts are crucial. Therefore, when studying professional development of educators trying to understand and investigate the values and perspectives that these educators embrace is necessary.
Within the light of these, it is believed by the researcher that the results of this study will give an in-depth understanding of values and beliefs of FAE instructors regarding how they develop themselves professionally in the institution. By having an in-depth understanding of the values and beliefs of FAE instructors, a detailed professional development model can be designed to cater for the needs of these professionals. Creating such a model for FAE instructors can provide insights for the directors, curriculum planners, and professional development and in-service trainers of the institution and the program when they are designing programs for the instructors.
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It is believed that this study will give further insights regarding how professional development relates to the school improvement (both FAE program and the university in general), individual development, and accomplishment of the mission statement of the FAE program and the university in general. Furthermore, it is believed that the results of this study can give insights to the curriculum planners, teacher educators and administrators to understand the values, perceptions and experiences as described by the FAE instructors when planning in-service training programs and professional development activities for instructors at FAE at Bilkent University.
It can be further noted that there is “lack of methodological knowledge regarding the application of phenomenology” (Cohen and Omery, 1994 as cited in Green and Holloway, 1997, p. 1015). In the educational field, especially the British educators, showed their interest in phenomenological studies in the mid 1970s as a reaction against the prevailing theoretical and methodological orthodoxies (Green and Holloway, 1997). However, when the current research studies on professional development is considered there is still the need to carry out in-depth research in trying to understand the world of professionals through the study of their everyday experiences. In this respect, this study also aims to contribute to the phenomenological studies in Turkey on professional development practices of educators. More importantly, through the exploration of everyday practices of the participants, this research aims to shed a light on how professional development is understood by English instructors working in the field of teaching for Academic Purposes, which is a rather new area of research in the field of English language teaching.
1.4. Definition of Terms
Bilkent University School of English Language (BUSEL): The English Language School at Bilkent University where Preparatory program and
14 freshman program are offered for the students enrolled at the university in various departments.
Faculty Academic English (FAE) Program: The program, which offers freshman English courses for various departments at Bilkent University.
FAE Instructor: The faculty member who is responsible for teaching various freshman English courses within the FAE program.
Unit: In the FAE program, each faculty has a different group of instructors, who are responsible from teaching freshman English courses to different departments in that faculty. These groups of instructors form a “unit”. Each unit has similar number of English instructors with various educational backgrounds and experiences. For example, Faculty of Engineering/Faculty of Science (FE/FS) Unit is comprised of 14 English instructors teaching freshman English courses (i.e., Eng 101 English and Composition I, Eng 102 English and Composition II, Eng 400 Technical Report Writing for Engineers) to the students of Engineering Faculty.
Head/ Head of Unit: The person who acts as a administrator in each unit and s/he is responsible from the English instructors within each unit in terms of ensuring the implementation of quality of teaching and assessment of each instructor.
Director: The top administrator responsible from the BUSEL and FAE program. Currently there is one FAE director and one BUSEL director at Bilkent University.
Professional: An FAE instructor who is eager to develop himself/herself in the field of teaching English for Academic Purposes and teaching EAP related courses in line with their role in the Faculty Academic English Program.
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Professional Development: Continuous and ongoing development in the profession of teaching English as a second language as well as teaching English for Academic Purposes through the opportunities provided by the institution as well as the opportunities created by the instructor himself/herself (i.e., applying for conferences).
Professional Development Activity: Opportunities participated by the professional instructor to help their self-growth as an individual as well as a professional.
Administrator: In the data analysis of the study, in order not to reveal the identity of the participants, the researcher preferred to use the term “administrator” to cover all the participants working in managerial positions. In other words, in this study, the term “administrator” includes the heads/head of units, director of BUSEL, director of FAE, and curriculum coordinator within the program.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter will first reflect the literature review on the definition of the terms “professional” and “teacher professional development” by reflecting the characteristics of the professional evelopment activities with reference to research studies. Finally, different factors affecting professional development such as the role of professional development on individual development, development of the institution and development of the society, and challenges against teacher professional development will be presented.
2.1. Conceptual Framework of Teacher Professionalism
In order have a profound understanding of the concept of professionalism, first there is the need to define this concept and emphasize the commonalities and differences between teaching and other professions.
2.1.1. Professionalism in the Teaching Profession
The term “professional” was first used in the medical field in the early twentieth century as a result of “the need to set standards for its professional community and develop a consensus about certain aspects of medical education” (Bransford, Darling-Hammond & LePage, 2005, p. 6). Other fields like engineering, law, and architecture followed similar paths to identify the core skills and characteristics of how a professional should be in their field. However, the literature suggests that, unlike these professions, teaching as a profession still contains areas that require modifications and updates regarding
17 the professional standards and improvements of understanding of the profession (Bransford, Darling-Hammond & LePage, 2005).
According to Schön, professionalism requires “internalizing standards of the field (e.g., ethics and standards of practice), undergoing introjection of and socialization into a professional role, and refining interpersonal and self- reflective skills” (Schön, 1983). Schön also adds that professionalism may involve internal processes that include ongoing consideration of and reflection on personal and professional experiences.
2.1.2. Teaching and Other Professions
When teaching is compared with other professions, every profession share some common characteristics as suggested by Bransford and Darling- Hammond (2005), and they describe these similarities of teaching with other professions are as follows:
What teaching has in common with a range of other professions is that the work serves others, and because of its social importance, must do so responsibly. Thus preparation must help teachers to both understand and move beyond their own personal knowledge and experiences to bring to bear a wider set of understandings on the problems of helping others learn (Bransford & Darling-Hammond, 2005, p. 12).
Similarly, Griffin (1991, as cited in Marsh & Willis, 2003, pp. 131-132) identifies the following characteristics of a profession: Members of a profession possess knowledge and skill, Professional work is carried forward in a collegium, Members of a profession contribute to the knowledge bases that guide their work and that of others, A profession is characterized by a career orientation, Members of a profession have considerable autonomy regarding the exercise of their professional knowledge and skill.
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On the other hand, Shulman (1998 as cited in Bransford & Darling-Hammond, 2005, p. 12), offers a different perspective on the characteristics shared by all professions, and puts forward a more contemporary approach adding the service and reflection elements into the characteristics of a professional. According to these researchers, all professions possess some common elements, which are:
1. Service to society, implying an ethical and moral commitment to clients; 2. A body of scholarly knowledge that forms the basis of the entitlement to practice; 3. Engagement in practical action, hence the need to enact knowledge in practice; 4. Uncertainty caused by the different needs of clients and the non-routine nature of problems, hence the need to develop judgment in applying knowledge; 5. The importance of experience in developing practice, hence the need to learn by reflecting on one’s practice and its outcomes; and 6. The development of a professional community that aggregates and shares knowledge and develops professional standards.
As can be seen from Griffin’s and Shulman’s insights, in all professions there are some key characteristics that define what it means to be a professional, such as belonging to a professional group or being knowledgeable about a specific field of expertise, but according to the educational experts, teaching requires different skills and characteristics than other professions as “the central part of being a professional teacher is a commitment to help all students succeed” (Bransford, Darling-Hammond & LePage, 2005, p. 6).
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To prove this point, Bransford and Darling-Hammond (2005) touch upon the complex nature of teaching, and explain why the teaching profession is different from the other professions as follows:
Although all professions have a body of scholarly knowledge and a social calling that form the basis of the entitlement to practice, the emphases and warrant for practice differ. Teaching can be viewed as a field that sits at the intersection of these other professional fields. Teachers might be viewed as similar to women and men of the cloth, as teaching has elements of a vocation or a calling, and it has strong connections to values and commitments. At the same time, although teaching may be a calling, it is not only a calling. There are systematic and principled aspects of effective teaching, and there is a base of verifiable evidence or knowledge that supports that work…. At another level, teaching is a body of tradition and precedent and organized experience (Bransford & Darling-Hammond, 2005, p. 12).
Similarly, Calderhead and Shorrock (1997) argue that professionalism in the teaching profession is different than other professions as teachers should not only be competent in knowing what and knowing how but also they need to be competent in knowing why and knowing when. This shows that teaching requires a variety of skills and competencies, and just being knowledgeable in their subject areas is not sufficient for teachers, which highlights the importance of professionalism and keeping one’s self up-to-date throughout the teaching and learning process no matter how experienced one can be.
More importantly, Celce-Murcia (2001) states that “the field of second language teaching has undergone through many fluctuations and shifts over the years” and stresses that language teaching is different than teaching of other subjects in the sense that change is quite often. She believes that this “fairly consistent change” and “swings” are mainly due to fact that “very few language teachers have a sense of history about their profession and thus unaware of the many methodological options” (Celce-Murcia, 2003, p. 3). In this respect, professionalism in English Language teaching requires an English
20 teacher to be up-to-date and be aware of the changes and improvements in their profession.
2.1.3. Some Key Terms Used in Teacher Professional Development
When the literature on teacher professionalism is considered, often terms like “teacher development,” “professional development,” “career development,” “staff development,” “professional learning,” “training,” and “in-service training” to refer to the professional activities required for the development of teachers.
First of all, Glatthorn (1994) defines teacher development as “the professional growth a teacher achieves as the result of gaining increased experience and examining his or her teaching systematically” (p. 41). According to Gu (2005), the notion of professional development is concerned with two main concepts: teaching as a profession, and teachers as professionals. Professionals in this respect need to possess four key elements: a) knowledge base, b) quality control, c) resources, d) conditions of practice (Corrigan and Haberman, 1990 as cited in Gu, 2005). In this respect, professional development is not limited with the formal experiences like attending professional meetings and in-service education programs but also enhanced by the informal experiences like following recent literature on teaching practices and self-evaluate teaching experiences (Ganser, 2000). Therefore, professional development “is the professional growth a teacher achieves as a result of gaining increased experience and examining his or her teaching systematically” (Glatthorn, 1995, p. 41).
On the other hand, Richards and Farrell (2005) argue that in teacher professional development, there are several assumptions held. First of all, sharing information regarding knowledge and experience is a crucial means for professional growth especially if the different levels of experience, knowledge,
21 skills and expertise of teachers working in an educational institution is considered. Secondly, classrooms need to be considered as an arena for teacher learning. Moreover, teachers have the most active role in their own professional development. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of educational institutions to provide opportunities for and encourage teachers’ continuous professional development. Finally, to have more effective professional development, these activities need to be planned, supported, and rewarded by the educational institution that teachers work at.
When the body of literature on teacher professionalism is considered, there are some terms used in professional development such as “professional training” and “professional development”. The difference between these terms is that, training refers to the activities focusing on the current responsibilities of a teacher, which include short-term and immediate goals, and “training” is often seen as a preparation for induction into a first teaching position or a new assignment and/or role. In this respect, “training involves understanding basic concepts and principles as a prerequisite for applying them to teaching” (Richards and Farrell, 2005, p. 3). On the other hand, the term “development” refers to long-term goals which focus on “growth of teachers’ understanding of teaching and of themselves as teachers” (Richards and Farrell, 2005, p. 3). In this respect, training is rather a top-down activity whereas development is bottom-up. When considering the continuous improvement of teachers, the term “professional development” is more context-specific and relevant.
Career development is, on the other hand, “the growth that occurs as the teacher moves through the professional career cycle” as defined by Glattorn (1995, p. 41) whereas staff development is “the provision of organized in- service programs designed to foster the growth of groups of teachers; it is only one of the systematic interventions that can be used for teacher development” (Glattorn, 1995, p. 41). As can be seen from these definitions, professional development is actually broader than staff development and career
22 development, and it requires examination of the content of experiences as well as the processes that professional teachers go through in their professional development and the context that the professional development takes place (Ganser, 2000). Considering the fact that for many years staff development or in-service training were considered to be the only ways for teacher development, exploring the professional development processes and the context that teachers develop themselves is rather a new area of study and research (Villegas-Reimers, 2003). Therefore, when studying professional development of teachers, one needs to consider it as “a long-term process that includes regular opportunities and experiences planned systematically to promote growth and development in the profession” (Villegas-Reimers, 2003), which may also be referred to as “lifelong learning of teachers” or “lifelong learning of professionals” (Villegas-Reimers, 2003).
Another key term used in professional development of teachers is “in-service education” or “INSET”. Even if the term “in-service education” may change from country to country, for most educational contexts it refers to “those education and training activities engaged in by primary and secondary school teachers and principles, following their initial professional certification, and intended mainly or exclusively to improve their professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order that they can educate children more effectively” (Bolam, 1982, p. 3). Gardner (1995) suggests that if the in-service education that teachers take is considered as a continuum, then on one end of this continuum there is the training given by an outside body such as Ministry of National Education, which is called as in-service or INSET. On the other end of this continuum, there are the trainings and activities taking place at the educational settings that teachers work, which is called as on-service or ONSET. In-service education is commonly offered to make teachers up-to-date, to offer certificate courses for unqualified teachers, to prepare teachers for their new roles, or to train teachers about the curricular changes in the educational system (Greenland, 1983).
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However, when the current understanding of teachers as professionals and the emphasis on lifelong learning practices are considered, teachers need to be actively involved in their own development and learning. In this respect, the traditional understanding of in-service or pre-service training is no longer valid. Instead, professional teacher development begins at the initial preparation stage and continues throughout the career process (Villegas- Reimers, 2003).
In the contemporary understanding of the term, according to Hargreaves (1994, p. 14), professionalism “emphasizes changes in and extensions to the teachers’ role that signify greater professionalism”. In this respect, Hargreaves sees teaching as a complex activity which requires development of professional skills, and being involved in leadership roles, partnerships with colleagues, shared decision-making and providing consultancy to others in their own areas of expertise.
More importantly, according to the contemporary approaches, such as constructivist learning theory, teachers need to be “practical intellectuals, curriculum developers, and generators of knowledge in practice” (Feiman- Nemser, 2001, p. 1015 as cited in Chai and Merry, 2006, p. 134).
Considering these insights, in its current form, teacher professional development has the following characteristics:
1. Professional development is a continuous process, and requires work related experiences, which make teachers relate their prior experiences and knowledge to the newly acquired ones (Ganser, 2000; Lieberman, 1994). Especially if the contemporary educational contexts are considered, the importance of lifelong learning in professional development is crucial. In other words, teachers need to keep
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themselves up-to-date and “the concept of life-long learning must become something more than a cliché” (Hammerness et al., 2005).
2. Teachers are active learners in their professional development process, and they participate in the teaching learning process through planning, implementation and evaluation processes. More importantly, during these teaching-learning processes teachers are required to reflect on their experiences, which contribute to their professional development (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005, p. ix). In this respect, a professional development program needs to provide teachers with opportunities to build new information, pedagogical theories, and develop expertise in their fields (Hammerness et al., 2005).
3. When studying professional development, the context where it takes place is crucial. In other words, rather than considering it as the one- shot workshops or in-service teacher training sessions, the research shows that teachers’ work related experiences is the major factor in teachers’ professional development (Ganser, 2000; Darling-Hammond, 1998). In this respect, teachers need to engage in professional development activities through which they can relate their contextual teaching experiences to their knowledge. Some of the activities that are regarded for this purpose are action research and portfolios, which promote on-the job learning experiences.
4. Professional development is not an individual but a collaborative learning process (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995), which include interactional patterns between teachers, administrators, parents and other community members (Grace, 1999).
5. Professional development can take many forms, there is not one best model for professional development. “The uniqueness of the individual
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setting will always be a critical factor in education. What works in one situation may not work in another” argues Guskey (1995, p. 117). In other words, when developing professional development models, one needs to consider the contextual factors, the needs of teachers, the setting, the cultural beliefs and practices into consideration so as to implement successful professional development activities in that particular context. As Guskey adds, “because of the enormous variability of in educational contexts, there will never be ‘one right answer’. Instead, there will be a collection of answers, each specific to a context” (1995, p. 117). This proves that sometimes there may be multiple solutions or models for educational problems and contexts, which require careful consideration of administrators and policy makers when planning professional development practices and programs.
2.2. Professional Development Activities
In addition to the definition of professionalism and the distinctions between professional development and other terms used in literature, it is also necessary to define what teacher professional development activities are.
Traditionally professional development activities are often referred to as “in- service training” where there is generally a top-down approach and through short-term courses or one-shot workshops administrators or policy makers control and sustain implementation of the educational goals and objectives (Ingvarson, 1998). Traditional approach to teacher professional development activities is often criticized as such trainings fail to have long-term effects and do not really promote professional development practices in the desired sense. Guskey (1995) identifies some key areas that need to be followed by professional development programs aiming to promote professional development activities. According to him, professional development practices need to:
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a. recognize change as being both an individual and organizational process, b. think big, but start small, c. work in teams to maintain support, d. include room for feedback, e. provide continuous follow-up and support, f. integrate programs.
To ensure effective professional development, Fullan (1987) urges that for successful teacher development activities the four factors necessary are: a) staff development needs to be redefined as a process of learning, b) leadership has a crucial role in teacher development programs, c) organizational culture has a crucial role in teacher development, d) local and regional agencies affect teacher development programs, which include some different components than the ones suggested by Fullan and Guskey.
Corcoran (1995) suggests the following principles when designing and implementing professional development programs and professional development activities. In this respect, professional development programs and professional development activities need to: a. be grounded in knowledge about teaching, b. offer intellectual, social and emotional engagement with ideas, materials and colleagues, c. model constructivist teaching, d. demonstrate respect for teachers as professionals and as adult learners, e. provide sufficient time and follow-up, f. be accessible and inclusive, g. stimulate and support initiatives of the educational context.
According to Little (1982, p. 331) there are four different collaborative activities that are necessary for professional development, all of which require
27 professional dialogue or professional exchange of ideas. These collaborative activities are: a) continuous and frequent activities where teachers exchange ideas about their teaching practices, b) activities in which teachers receive constructive feedback after frequent observations, c) activities where teachers carry out steps for instruction (planning, researching, designing instructional and assessment materials), d) activities where teachers learn from one another about their teaching practices.
In a project examining 1153 elementary and junior high school teachers’ perceptions of their own professional certainty in Norway, the survey results indicated that planning lessons, and discussing and learning from colleagues are the common collaborative professional development activities that teachers most commonly used. 50% of the teachers reported that they carried out collaborative lesson planning sessions with their colleagues, and 40% of the teachers participated in the study stated that they discussed and shared issues related with the instructional process and pedagogical matters with their colleagues. On the other hand, peer observations appeared to be very rare among them (Munthe, 2003).
On the other hand, when teachers collaborate during planning their lessons, sometimes this process may not enhance professional development and it may actually prevent teachers from experiencing personal development. As Shavelson puts it, “…planning may be counterproductive if teachers become single-minded and do not adapt their lessons to their students” (Shavelson, 1983, p. 405 as cited in Munthe, 2003, p. 810). In other words, teachers need to be aware of the unique characteristics of their own students and make the necessary changes before applying the collaboratively prepared lesson plan in their classrooms, as they may not work as planned.
The literature on teacher professional development suggests that during the long-term and continuous nature of professional development process, there are
28 various mediums for teacher development and learning, and there are different forms of professional development activities. One of the most prominent categories is what Richards and Farrell suggest. According to Richards and Farrell (2003) professional development activities are categorized under four types: a) individual, b) one-to-one, c) group-based, and d) institutional.
Table 2.1. Activities for teacher development categorized by Richards and Farrell (2005, p. 14) Individual One-to-one Group-based Institutional Self-monitoring Peer coaching Case studies Workshops Journal writing Peer Action research Action research Critical observation Journal writing Teacher support incidents Critical Teacher support groups Teaching friendships groups portfolios Action research Action research Critical incidents Team teaching
Table 2.2. Models and techniques of professional development summarized by Villegas- Reimers (2003, p. 70)
Organizational partnership models Small group or individual models Professional development schools Supervision: traditional and clinical Other university-school partnerships Students’ performance assessment Other inter-institutional collaborations Workshops, seminars, courses, etc. Schools’ networks Case-based study Teachers’ networks Self-directed development Distance education Co-operative or collegial development Observation of excellent practice Teachers’ participation in new roles Skills-development model Reflective models Project-based models Portfolios Action research Use of teachers’ narratives Generational or cascade model Coaching/mentoring
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On the other hand, in the literature of teacher professional development, there exist many models and techniques designed specifically for various contexts. Villegas-Reimers (2003) classifies these models and techniques under two categories as shown in the above Table 2.2.
According to Villegas-Reimers (2003, p. 70) the first column in the above classification reflects the models that require and imply organizational or inter- institutional partnerships. In the second column, models, techniques or activities that can be carried out on a smaller scale, such as in a school or classroom, are presented. As can be seen from Table 3.1 and 4, professional development can take many forms.
2.3. Contribution of Professional Development on the Individual,
Organization and Society
In this section some of the factors contributing to professional development will be explained and professional development as a means of personal development, professional development as a means of institutional development and professional development as a way to enhance student learning will be highlighted.
2.3.1 Professional Development and Individual Development
Fessler (1995) acknowledges that the factors influencing teachers’ development include their personal environment, the family, individual dispositions and avocational interests (p. 181). Therefore, knowing one’s self is highly crucial for professional teacher development. Highlighting the personal impact and complexity of professional development, Raymond, Butt and Townsend (1992) relate personal development to professional development by stating that the starting point for teacher development is highly personal and each teacher has an “amalgam” of experiences that they select as the basis for their own development (p.152).
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Similarly, when developing one’s self professionally it is not only crucial to develop one’s individual self but also their collegiality. Raymond, Butt and Townsend (1992) highlight the crucial role of individuality and collegiality in the development of teachers in their study and conclude that “teachers’ stories clearly illuminate the way in which teachers’ early personal experiences and personal development have a profound influence on who they are and the way they become teachers. Since these personal dispositions shape teachers’ encounters with career situations and contexts, the inevitable individuality of professional development is underlined” (p. 159).
One criticism against considering each individual teacher’s self development needs and professional development needs when tailoring professional development programs, as they require resources and expenditure. As Hargreaves and Fullan (1992, p. 1) suggest that governments and their educational bureaucracies are cost conscious and control centered, resulting in little interest in putting in the time, effort and expenditure in such programs. More importantly, education bureaucracies and teachers have at times had a less than trusting relationship. For teachers to develop their own professional development, as suggested by Clark (1992) cooperation and collaboration is necessary. Hargreaves and Fullan (1992, p. 13) also notes that one risk of focusing on the personal development of teachers in training programs is that the school administrators may shift their responsibility for learning from corporate to the personal. In this respect, the administrators may reflect that the teachers are not effective enough in their teaching methods, and teachers are to blame for students’ low performance. This risk, according to Hargreaves and Fullan, leads to “implicitly conservative” approaches to teacher development. In this respect, in order to eliminate such problems the teacher development programs should consider both the needs of the individual as well as the needs of the educational context they operate in.
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When the literature on teacher professional development is considered, it can be seen that teachers’ personal and professional lives are not really separated from one another and they are both viewed as interrelated and influential to one another. To support this claim, for example, Little (1990) emphasizes that “…professional development …encompasses the individual’s experience both in and out of the classroom” (p. 187). Therefore, how a teacher develops herself/himself individually as well as a professionally are highly crucial to their professional development.
Contrary to the belief that professional development occurs in the workplaces of teachers, the literature on professional development indicate that professional development does not necessarily occur in the workplaces. If there are few opportunities at the workplace for teachers to have professional dialogues with their colleagues, then such a shared dialogue and reflection or “the inner dialogues (or thought) are not ‘fed into’ as much as if there had been more collaboration” (Munthe, 2003, p. 803). In this respect, informal and self- reflective practices offered and supported by the workplaces of teachers have an undeniable impact on teacher professional development.
To indicate this point clearly, it can be stated that differences in teachers attitudes and values towards self-development affect lifelong learning and professional development. In a study carried as a part of California Staff Development program, which was carried out with randomly selected faculties of 80 schools, reveal that educators behave similarly in their approach to professional development opportunities. The results of the study revealed that the ones who are active in their professional lives are also active in their personal lives. The same study also showed that both personal and professional friends affect professional development practices. More importantly, people who had positive attitudes towards professional development were also positive in their personal development (Joyce et al., 2009, p. 192).
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Considering the data collected from their study, Joyce et al. (2009, p. 192) developed four categories to describe teachers’ and administrators’ states of growth. Gourmet omnivores vigorously approach everything around their world as an opportunity; they choose the activities that best suit their needs sometimes finding it difficult to find a professional development activity they can benefit. In collegial relationships they seek out other active people. Active consumers are active most of the time but display less initiative. They selectively participate in activities organized by others. They model a high state of learning in a school environment. Passive consumers, on the other hand, are happy with their working environment, they rarely want a change, they participate in activities generated by others and attend meetings, and they look to others for leadership. Reticent consumers are always negative about what they are offered in terms of professional development opportunities, and mostly believe that what are offered do not have any worth at all. Joyce et al. summarize the reaction of these four different categories of professionals after a workshop as:
If you offer a solid workshop – conceptual and practical – and you have the array of states of growth we have been talking about, you will get a distribution of responses. The omnivores and active consumers will be cheerful and positive and may offer you advice about how to do it better. The passive consumers will thank you and leave without any intention of doing anything about it – you have to organize the follow- up. The reticent folks will growl. (Joyce et al., 2009, p. 193).
Similarly, according to Johnston and Wetherill (2002, p. 23) socialization is an important element for teachers to form their self-identity, and there are three forms of socialization. First all, teachers need to socialize into the discipline they are teaching through taking opportunities for mastering the subject they teach. Secondly, teachers need to go through a socialization process in their profession by attending in-service training and graduate studies. The third form of socialization requires teachers to socialize into the educational institution they are working at, which is regarded by Johnston and Wetherill as “the
33 greatest significance in the identity formation” (2002, p. 25). The reason for this is that teachers are initiated into the norms and practices within the school culture, which will shape their professional identity to a great extent.
In another study, which was carried by Johnston and Wetherill (2002) including 63 intern teachers in two secondary schools attending Professional Development System’s training sessions in the U.S., aiming at researching the socialization process of teachers, the survey data reflected that teachers found the coaching model applied in the training sessions very beneficial in terms of sharing what they have learned from the sessions as well as identifying the areas that they need to develop. Furthermore, the bond created between intern teachers